Forklift dumping means



INVENTOR. WILL/AM A. AME/V BY 6 ATTORNEY 2 Sheets-Sheet w. A-. ALLENFORKLIFT DUMPING MEANS Dec. 26, 1967 Filed June 6, 1966 Dec. 26, 1967 w.A. ALLEN 3,360,143

' FORKLIFT DUMPING MEANS Filed Jun e, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Z] Z v 1 aJNVENTOR. W/LL/AM AFYALLE/V United States Patent 3,360,143 FORKLIFTDUMPING MEANS William A. Allen, 603 S. Arrowhead Ave., San Bernardino,Calif. 92408 Filed June 6, 1966, Ser. No. 555,611 3 Claims. (Cl.214-317) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention is acontinuation-in-part of my pending application, bearing the same title,Serial No. 443,483, and filed March 29, 1965, and now abandoned.

This invention relatesto means for coupling a container to the upper endof the vertical guide of a forklift, whereby the same provides a fulcrumon which the container tilts forwardly as the lift islowered to dump thecontents of the container. An object of the preesnt invention is.toprovide dumping means as characterized above.

Another object of the. invention is to provide interengaging meanspartly on the upper end. of a forklift vertical guide and partly on thelower rear portion of the container that, when coupled as the.container-elevating means is lowered from a position in which thecontainer is above the means on the guide, affords a fulcrum on whichthe container is dumped in a forward direction.

.A further object of the invention is to provide means, as abovecharacterized, that provides fail-safe improvements .that preventaccidental dislodgment of the container from the means that affords thefulcrum on which the container tilts to dump its contents.

A still further .object of the invention is to providecontainer-engaging means that prevents dislodgment of the container inall tilted positions thereof, such dislodgment or separation beingcapable of being effected only when the container is inupright position.

This invention also has for its objects to provide such means that arepositive .in operation, convenient in use, easily installed in a workingposition and easily disconnected therefrom, economical of manufacture,relatively simple, and of general superiority and serviceability.

The above objects are realized in a construction that provides acontainer having horizontally aligned pivot or fulcrum pins fixedlyprovided at the opposite rear corners, and is provided with oppositely.directed brackets that mount operator-controlled arms, which aremovable by the operator between retracted positions providing clearancefor the container to. be elevated by the lifting component of theforklift to a level above the retracted arms, and projected positionslocating hook portions of said arms in the path of movement of thementioned pins, as the container is being lowered, to cause said pins tocouple with said hook portions. Continued lowering movement of thelifting. componentof the forklift allows the container to fulcrum aroundthe axis of said pivot pins so the contents of the container are dumpedin a forward direction. Upon again raising the container and uncouplingthe pins thereof from the hooks on said arms so the latter ,may be againretracted, the container may be lowered to the ground. The containersforwardly of the fulcrum pins are provided with pins so spaced from thefulcrum pins that said hooks may pass therebetween, enabling thecontainer, when horizontally disposed, and the hook 3,369,143 PatentedDec. 26, 1967 provided arms to be separated. Said forwardly spaced pinsand the bottom of the container, when the latter is in any otherposition, restrict dislodge-movement between the hooks and the pivotpins, providing the contemplated fail-safe feature of the invention.

The invention also comprises novel details of construction and novelcombinations and arrangements of parts, which will more fully appear inthe course of the following description and which is based on theaccompanying drawings. However, said drawings merely show, and thefollowing description merely describes, one embodiment of the presentinvention, which is given by Way of illustration or example only.

In the drawings, like reference characters designate similar parts inthe several views.

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of the upper end of a forkliftprovided with the dumping means of the present invention in a positionpreparatory tocoupling the container that is to be dumped.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view, to a reduced scale, as takensubstantially on the line 22 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a similar view showing the container coupled to the dumpingmeans and in an intermediate tilted dumping position as well as a fulldump position.

FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 are views, similar to FIG. 3, showing three othercontainer-dumping means relationships.

FIG. 7 is aside elevational view of the dumping means in stowed positionclear of the container during its movements.

The forklift is represented by the upper end of its vertical guide 10,the lift component-11 operating in said guide under hydraulic or otherpower typically used for raising and lowering said component, and a pairof lift fingers 12 extending forwardly from said component 11 and which,in the usual way, are insertable under a load to lift the same duringraising of said component. Other portions'of the-forklift have beenomitted since the same form no part of the present invention, theillustrated elements 10, 11 and 12 functioning in a typical manner, asexplained.

The above-described forklift is provided with the present dumping meanswhich comprises, generally,-oppositely arranged brackets 15 affixed tothe upper end of the guide 10, an arm 16 pivotally mounted on eachbracket and provided with an operating link 17 and a hook end 18, anoperating lever 19 connected to one of said links 17 and arranged, aswill later be seen, for operator control to move said arms 16 betweenretracted and projected operating positions, a trash or similarcontainer 20, horizontally aligned pivot pins 21 affixed to the oppositerear corners of the container, said pins, when the container 20 issupported on the lift fingers 12 with the lift component 11 raised,being first located above the hook ends 18 of the retracted arms 16, andthen lowered and engaged with the hook ends when said arms areprojected, to pivotally couple the container to the forklift so thecontainer will tilt on the pivot thus formed to dump its contents, uponcontinued lowering of the lift components 11, and a second pair ofaligned pins 22 forwardly spaced from the pins 21 and comprisinghook-retainers.

The brackets 15 are preferably afiixed to the sides of the verticalguide 10, eachbracket being provided with a vertical wall 25, said wallsbeing parallel and extending forwardly from the front face of the guide10. Said walls 25 are provided with transversely aligned pivots 26 andstop pins or lugs 27, both adjacent the forward edges of said walls.

The arms 16 are alike and are carried on the pivots 26 to swing invertical planes preferably on the outer sides of walls 25, each arm 16having the mentioned operating link 17 pivotally attached thereto andthe hook end 18 which extends at about a right angle to the .pivot 28 ofthe link 17. Each arm 16 is also provided with an abutment edge 29which, together with the hook end 13 constitute limiting stops whichcooperate with the stop pin 27 to stop the arm with its hook endretracted or projected according to whether the operating lever 19 ispushed or pulled. Said levers 19 are operator controlled and representmeans suitable to move the arms 16 to retracted or projected positions,as desired.

In practice, only one lever 19 is provided, the same having an arm 19athat connects with the link 17 on one of the arms 16. A transverse shaft30, at one end, comprises a pivot for the operating lever 19 and an arm,similar to the arm 19a, is provided on the opposite end of said shaftand is connected to the link 17 of the arm 16 at the opposite end. Aspring 31, through a lever 32, normally biases the lever 19 to thestowed position of the arms 16, as in FIG. 7, said lever 19, against thebias of spring 31, moving the arms 16 to hook-projecting positions laterexplained herein.

The container 29 may comprise any suitably formed receptacle that isopen at the top, has a bottom 33 such that the same may rest upon thelift fingers 12, and extension walls or brackets 34'arranged in pairs,at each side, the pivot pins 21 and hook-retaining pins 22 spanningacross the walls of said brackets, the same being transversely spacedaccording to the spacing of the hook ends 18 of the arms 16.

Operation When the lift 11 is extended and the forks or fingers 12thereof support a container 20, and said lift is being lowered accordingto the arrow 35, the normally stowed hooks 18, from the position of FIG.7,.are projected by pulling on the lever 19. As shown in FIG. 1, thepins 21 become engaged with the hooks 18. Continued lowering of theforks 12 causes the container to first pull the arms 16 to the out orprojected position limited by stop pins 27, then allows the container toswing downwardly while in total hooking engagement with the hooks 18,first to the full-line angular position, then, to the pendant dotdashline position of FIG. 3. The latter is the full dump position.

Upon subsequent upward movement of the forks 12, as indicated by arrow36 of FIG. 4, the container 20 is caused to swing upwardly according toarrow 37. Due to the bias of spring 31, the arms 16 are retracted fromthe full projected position of FIG. 3, the pins 21 being pushed by theforks toward the outer edges of the walls 25 and into notches orrecesses 38. As seen in FIG. 4, the lower rear corner 20a of thecontainer 20, as the latter pivots around the axis of pins 21, is aboutto engage the outer vertical faces of the forks. When this occurs, justbefore the container bottom achieves the horizontal posi tion of FIG. 5,the pins 21 are withdrawn from the re cesses 38 against the bias of thespring 31, as in FIG. 5, preparatory to moving upwardly. As shown inFIG. 6, the initial upward movement causes the pins 21 to cam the hooksopen freeing the container for continued upward movement.

When the container 20 is pendent or angular, as in FIG. 4, any forcestending to dislodge the pins 21 from engagement with the hooks 18 areprevented by the hookretainer pins 22 that encounter the hooks 18 whensuch dislodging tendency occurs. When the container bottom 33 achieveshorizontal position, relative vertical separation movement of thecontainer from the hooks may be effected, as in FIG. 6. Thus, only whenthe container is fully supported on the forks, can the pivot between thecontainer and the hooks be disengaged. In all other positions of thecontainer, its bottom and the retainer pins restrict any movementbetween the hooks and the pivot pins 21 that could cause disengagement.

While the foregoing has illustrated and described what is nowcontemplated to be the best mode of carrying out the invention, theconstruction is, of course, subject to modification without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, it is not desiredto restrict the invention to the particular form of constructionillustrated and described, but to cover all modifications that may fallwithin the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed and desired to besecured by Letters Patent is:

1. In a forklift for raising and dumping a container having a bottom anda rearwardly directed face and provided with aligned pivot pins at therear corners between said bottom and face, said forklift having avertical guide, a lift component operable in said guide, and lift forksextending forwardly from said component,

(a) forwardly extending brackets aflixed to the opposite sides of theupper end of said guide,

(b) an arm pivotally mounted on each bracket and movable betweenretracted and projected positions,

(c) spring means to bias the arms to retracted position,

(d) means to move the arms to projected position against the bias ofsaid spring means,

(e) each arm being provided with a hook portion that is rearwardly clearof the rearward part and of the pivot pins of the container supported bythe lift forks when the arms are retracted during lifting of the latter,each said hook portion being in the path of lowering movement of acontainer supported on the lift forks and of said pivot pins, when thearms are projected, to pivotally engage said pins when the liftcomponent and the container are lowered, and

(f) retainer members forwardly spaced from the pivot pins and betweenwhich and said pivot pins said hook portions are disposed when inhooking engagernent with the pivot pins,

(g) the container, upon continued lowering movement of the liftcomponent and the lift fingers thereof, being released for forwardtiltable dumping movement around said hook-engaged pins as a fulcrum,the retainer members moving to hook-retaining position during suchtilting movement,

(h) said forwardly directed brackets being provided with forwardlydirected walls on which the arms are pivotally mounted, and stop pins onsaid walls to limit the projected and retracted positions of thehook-provided arms.

2. A forklift according to claim 1 in which,

(a) the forward edges of the mentioned bracket walls are provided withforwardly facing recesses in the path of rearward movement of the pivotpins when engaged with the hook portions of the pivoted arms, and

(b) the mentioned spring bias on the arms drawing said pins intoengagement with the recesses when the container, in a forwardly tiltedposition, is caused to move toward the horizontal position by the upwardvertical movement of the lift forks.

3. A forklift according to claim 2 in which,

(a) the lift forks have forwardly directed faces against which thementioned rearwardly directed face of the container is disposed when thecontainer is in horizontally disposed position with its bottom on thelift forks and the pivot pins thereof engaged with the hook portions ofthe pivoted arms,

(b) the mentioned rear corners of the container, when the latter ismoved by the lift forks from tilted to vertical positions, engaging theforwardly directed faces of the lift forks to provide a fulcrum aroundwhich the pins, residing in the mentioned recesses, move to withdrawfrom the recesses.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 4/1944 Brooks 214-314 HUGO O.SCHULZ, Primary Examiner.

Disclaimer 3,360,143.William A. Allen, San Bernardino, Calif. FORKLIFTDUMP- ING MEANS. Patent dated Dec. 26, 1967. Disclaimer fiIed Jan. 21,

1969, by the assignee, J arise Corporation. Hereby disclaims theterminal portion of the term of the patent subsequent to Dec. 19, 1984.

[Official Gazette September 23, 1.969.]

1. IN A FORKLIFT FOR RAISING AND DUMPING A CONTAINER HAVING A BOTTOM ANDA REARWARDLY DIRECTED FACE AND PROVIDED WITH ALIGNED PIVOT PINS AT THEREAR CORNERS BETWEEN SAID BOTTOM AND FACE, SAID FORKLIFT HAVING AVERTICAL GUIDE, A LIFT COMPONENT OPERABLE IN SAID GUIDE, AND LIFT FORKSEXTENDING FORWARDLY FROM SAID COMPONENT, (A) FORWARDLY EXTENDINGBRACKETS AFFIXED TO THE OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE UPPER END OF SAID GUIDE,(B) AN ARM PIVOTALLY MOUNTED ON EACH BRACKET AND MOVABLE BETWEENRETRACTED AND PROJECTED POSITIONS, (C) SPRING MEANS TO BIAS THE ARMS OFRETRACTED POSITION, (D) MEANS TO MOVE THE ARMS TO PROJECTED POSITIONAGAINST THE BIAS OF SAID SPRING MEANS, (E) EACH ARM BEING PROVIDED WITHA HOOK PORTION THAT IS REARWARDLY CLEAR OF THE REARWARD PART AND OF THEPIVOT PINS OF THE CONTAINER SUPPORTED BY THE LIFT FORKS WHEN THE ARMSARE RETRACTED DURING LIFTING OF THE LATER, EACH SAID HOOK PORTION BEINGIN THE PATH OF LOWERING MOVEMENT OF A CONTAINER SUPPORTED ON THE LIFTFORKS AND OF SAID PIVOT PINS, WHEN THE ARMS ARE PROJECTED, TO PIVOTALLYENGAGE SAID PINS WHEN THE LIFT COMPONENT AND THE CONTAINER ARE LOWERED,AND (F) RETAINER MEMBERS FORWARDLY SPACED FROM THE PIVOT PINS ANDBETWEEN WHICH AND SAID PIVOT PINS SAID HOOK PORTIONS ARE DISPOSED WHENIN HOOKING ENGAGEMENT WITH THE PIVOT PINS, (G) THE CONTAINER, UPONCONTINUED LOWERING MOVEMENT OF THE LIFT COMPONENT AND THE LIFT FINGERSTHEREOF, BEING RELEASED FOR FORWARD TILTABLE DUMPING MOVEMENT AROUNDSAID HOOK-ENGAGED PINS AS A FULCRUM, THE RETAINER MEMBERS MOVING THEHOOK-RETAINING POSITION DURING SUCH TILTING MOVEMENT, (H) SAID FORWARDLYDIRECTED BRACKETS BEING PROVIDED WITH FORWARDLY DIRECTED WALLS ON WHICHTHE ARMS ARE PIVOTALLY MOUNTED, AND STOP PINS ON SAID WALLS TO LIMIT THEPROJECTED AND RETRACTED POSITIONS OF THE HOOK-PROVIDED ARMS.